


The Jathena AU Collection

by AndOrZebra



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, Jathena - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-07 04:03:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4248609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndOrZebra/pseuds/AndOrZebra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of Jathena AUs based on submitted prompts. Chapter lengths, ratings and updates will vary. Get ready friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Greaser Up

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 1: Submitted by xiphoa on tumblr
> 
> Greaser AU where Athena is the tough girl you don't want to mess with and Janey is the sweet mechanic who works on Athena and everyone else's motorcycles.
> 
> Complete with leather jackets, tight white shirts, and 50's greaser slang.

Streetlights flickered, tired from their years spent keeping the south side of Fyerstone lit. The echoes of Athena’s boots bounced down each alley she passed, eventually becoming lost on the quiet roads, whose cracked and crumbling surfaces radiated the last of the day’s heat.

She strolled casually along the industrial strip, studying the abandoned garages and manufacturing shops. It was a sad thing to watch a town die, slow and drawn out like a wounded animal. She wondered whether it would be kinder to put it out of its misery, or to wait and see if it recovered. Naturally, she leaned toward the first option. It was quick, easy, and efficient, but she also knew someone who would choose the latter every time, and it made her reconsider.

Solutions to the city’s troubles aside, there was one spot of life still left in this neighbourhood, and every few steps Athena’s gaze flicked to its distinct speck of brightness, still several blocks ahead. Nervous anticipation churned in her stomach and she frowned at the intensity of the feeling.

Gradually the speck of light grew in size to become a sign, which lit the T-junction it hung above in pink and white. Athena knew the words it displayed off by heart, but she always enjoyed tracing their edges and curves with her eyes. They felt familiar and eased the anxiety in her chest.

**Springs’ Garage**

_put a spring in ya ride_

That slogan always made her smile; the voice in her head could no longer read it without an Elpian accent.

Athena reached the corner and didn’t bother to look before she crossed, digging her hands into the pockets of her studded jacket. She lazily rolled the toothpick in her mouth from one side to the other. It was a poor substitute for a cigarette, but she’d made a promise to give up the habit and she intended to keep it. Mostly.

She approached the spray of light that spilt from beneath the shop’s roller door and ducked under the heavy metal, her leather pants creaking a little in protest. Athena’s hands went to her hair as she stood up, and she used her fingers in place of a comb to slick back any errant strands. Appearances weren’t something she concerned herself with, but there were certain people she liked to make the effort for.

The garage stretched out before her, packed to the brim with motorcycles and cars, business as usual for the best grease monkey in town. The building’s ceiling was a good twelve feet high, converted from an old warehouse, and the walls showed their age in streaks of grime, matching the oil stains on the floor.

Athena listened for the usual loud clanks that often punctuated the buzz and pop of the fluorescent tubes hanging above. A few seconds passed before a metallic crash sounded, followed by a muttered, “Aw, shit…” 

There we go. 

Athena quietly made her way toward the car closest to her left. Though it was not her taste, she couldn’t deny that the modified Skag hot-rod dominated the room. Bold, black and banging, as her younger sister would have said. But classy as it was, it didn’t hold Athena’s attention for very long. Not when she finally got a glimpse of the woman half buried beneath it.

Janey’s lower body stuck out just below the passenger door. Dirty, denim coveralls were tied at her waist and they shifted over long legs, one straight, and the other bent up and moving with a gentle sway. A sure indication Janey was trying to solve a complex problem. Scuffed, pink Docs caught Athena’s attention where they tapped out a rhythm in time to some unheard song.

She couldn’t help but keep her presence secret for a little longer, taking the time to skim her eyes up to the mechanic’s hips, where a sliver of skin peeked out below a white shirt that was entirely too small. Bloodstains flecked the material near Janey’s bellybutton and-

Wait. Bloodstains… 

Athena held back a sigh at her girlfriend’s lack of care to whose clothes she threw on in the morning. She was going to run out of shirts at this rate, but, ignoring the size issue, she had to admit Janey looked good in her clothes. The mechanic twisted and Athena watched the shirt ride higher. Okay, very good, no matter how stretched out they might be when returned.

However, while the picture her girlfriend painted was unreal, anxiety had started to drip back into Athena’s stomach and her fingers grew fidgety. She cleared her throat before stepping closer. The foot tapping stopped and Janey pushed herself out from underneath the car.

“Heya, cool cat.” Janey grinned up at her, choppy blonde hair a mess and cheeks smeared with grease. “Was wondering how long you were gonna stand there for.”

“I wasn’t-” Athena frowned. “I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

Janey laughed as she stood and wiped her hands on her thighs.

“Uh-huh, and this isn’t the hottest yank tank I’ve seen all week.” Janey’s accent played in Athena’s ears as the mechanic leaned closer. 

“You call all the cars here ‘yank tanks’.” Athena reminded her, gaze flicking to the black hot-rod, then back to Janey’s playful smirk.

“I wasn’t talkin’ about the rod.”

Athena’s cheeks burned and her thoughts stumbled as she tried to think of a reply. She resisted the urge to push Janey against the hood of the car and kiss that smile from her face. Instead, she steeled herself and decided to employ subtlety over brazenness. Slowly, she wrapped a hand around the blonde’s hip and rose up on her toes till her lips ghosted over Janey’s.

“Where is she?” Athena whispered the question, taking pleasure in the hitch she heard in Janey’s breath before pulling back. She watched as Janey pouted a little in disappointment. The mechanic jerked her head toward the entrance.

“Over there. All ready for ya.” Janey adjusted her headband and nudged Athena’s elbow, urging her forward. They weaved their way between the bikes, suspended engines and other assorted projects that littered the garage, and arrived in a cleared area near the door. In the middle, a silvery sheet concealed the solid shape Athena knew like the back of her hand.

“Y’know, I’d be jealous if she weren’t such a beaut.” Janey winked and walked over to grip the silver cover. It was true; Janey was the only person who loved and appreciated Athena’s ride almost as much as she did.

Janey pulled back the sheet and Athena held her breath, heartbeat skipping when the material fell to reveal the motorbike beneath. In an instant, all her anxiety dropped away. 

The Aspis 600 sat low to the ground, sleek, refined, and minimal. Its twin seat came up to Athena’s hip and the newly chromed tank now matched the exhaust pipes. Its surface reflected Athena’s proud smile as she stepped closer, hands reaching for the clip-on bars that were fitted to the fork tubes. Her fingertips lightly caressed their worn rubber handles and her leg itched to be thrown over the bike’s side, to straddle the beast that felt more like home than any house or city.

She took a breath and withdrew her hands, glancing at Janey to see an expression of delight directed at her.

“ _That_ is the reason why you do this, isn’t it?” Athena stated more than asked, pointing to Janey’s face. She stepped around the Aspis to take the sheet from the blonde’s hands and throw it over some old Dahl 250.

“I jus’ do what I’m good at, bonus if it makes people happy.” Janey shrugged and Athena saw right through it. “I’ll fire ‘er up, if you’re ready to go.”

“Woah, not so fast, baby.” Athena used the sleeves tied at Janey’s waist to tug the mechanic forwards, appreciating the red cheeks the nickname caused. It was why she kept her terms of endearment to a minimal; the reactions were better the less she used them. “I’m not ready just yet.”

Athena let her words drop in time to the inches she closed between them, Janey watching her every move, and she fisted her hands in the material above the mechanic’s chest. With a rough pull, she crashed their lips together, hard and bruising, like the purple splotches that still covered her ribs from the turf scuffle earlier today.

Except this pain sparked and burned with pleasure as Janey’s teeth clamped down on her lip and a moan fell into her mouth. The mechanic tasted like oil and metal, mixed with a soft sweetness. It drove Athena crazy and she wrapped her arms around Janey’s neck in an attempt to pull her closer.

She felt palms slide down her ass when she ran her tongue along the blonde’s lips, demanding access. Janey opened to her instantly and Athena was so distracted by her own needy exploration, she didn’t notice the long fingers that moved to grip the backs of her thighs.

Suddenly, she was lifted into the air as Janey walked her over toward the wall. She adjusted quickly, wrapping her legs around the mechanic’s scarred hips and grinning into the kiss. The smile didn't last when her back slammed against brick and teeth clinked against hers. Those teeth gradually moved down her neck and sank into her skin in sharp bites. Athena groaned, head tilting back, and dug her nails into Janey’s broad shoulders, slightly annoyed she could be undone so easily.

CLUNK 

Athena jerked. Her gaze shot over Janey’s shoulder to where the shop’s two apprentices had wandered out from the office. The taller, redheaded one – was it Gaige? – lifted her eyebrows and gave a loud wolf whistle.

To Athena’s surprise, Janey’s tongue continued down her throat as if the two young women hadn’t just interrupted them, and she was left to simply glare as the blonde one – Janey’s niece, Tina – called out:

“OOOHH! Boss is gettin’ laid TO-niGHT!”

This finally drew Janey’s lips away from Athena’s neck. The mechanic kept Athena’s eye as she threw a reply over her shoulder, “And you two are gettin’ fired if ya don’t beat it!”

The girls snickered and shuffled toward the back door. Athena continued her death stare till Gaige opened it and stepped out. Though the older girl didn’t leave before reminding them, “No backseat bingo, ladies! We don’t want any repeats of last time.”

Tina laughed hysterically at this and even Janey smiled against Athena’s collarbone. Then Tina added a, “Ride ‘er GOOD boss!”, before skipping out after Gaige.

The door slammed shut and Athena shifted her glare to Janey. “You know what this does to my reputation, right?”

“Cool it, baby.” Janey nipped Athena’s nose. “Everyone in Fyrestone knows not to mess with you.”

“Yeah, well,” Athena grumbled as she dropped her legs from the mechanic’s hips. “Lets split this scene, I have business I need to finish.”

She gestured to Janey’s lanky form, eyes lingering a little on her tattooed arms, before she marched over to her bike. Janey’s laugh echoed behind her as she slipped the key into the ignition. Athena wheeled the Aspis out of the garage, leaving Janey to lockup. 

Outside, the summer night was warm and she could just pick out the stars speckled between clouds, where they competed with the bright city below. The chirps of cicadas sprung from the properties around her and added to the still, lazy atmosphere.

With ease, she swung her leg over the Aspis and paused to appreciate the sensation of having leather and metal beneath her thighs once again. Groping down under the tank, Athena turned the petcock controlling the gas to ‘On’ and flicked out the kick-start. She put her weight onto one foot and lifted her other boot, punching down on the kick-start.

It only took two kicks for the bike to roar to life. Athena smiled and revved the girl gently till she settled into an idle purr, before hopping off the bike as she heard the roller door close behind her. She left the motorcycle on its stand to warm up and walked over to where Janey was bent over, padlocking the door.

“Nice night.” She commented. “Where’s your jacket?”

Janey turned and rubbed the back of her neck, “Ahh, at your place?”

Athena sighed. This happened so often; she was starting to wonder if the mechanic did it on purpose. Regardless, she shrugged off her own without a second thought and offered it to Janey, taking pleasure in the flick of the blonde’s eyes over her newly exposed arms. Athena had started to wear tank tops more frequently ever since working out Janey’s thing for her ‘guns’, as the mechanic called them.

Janey pulled the black leather over her shoulders and Athena made sure to flex a little as she reached to do up the zip. The jacket’s hem sat a good hand width too short on Janey’s torso, but the shoulders fitted, which was the important thing. She looked up to see Janey staring at her with fondness and didn’t know what to say, so she swivelled on her heel and marched over to her motorcycle.

She settled back in the seat, rocked the Aspis off its stand and pulled in the clutch, slipping the engine into gear. A hand gripped her shoulder and Athena braced herself as Janey hopped on behind her. She closed her eyes and savoured the feeling of Janey’s warmth against her back, the touch of long thighs near hers, and the grip of slender arms as they wound around her middle.

“Where to?” She murmured, fingers wrapping around the accelerator.

Lips pressed to the back of her neck and Athena shivered despite the warm air.

“Take me home, daddy-o,” Janey whispered beside her ear, voice low and breath hot.

At the words, Athena dropped the clutch in perfect time with a strong rev. A familiar shot of adrenalin raced through her veins when they pulled away from the garage and tore down the street. The air whisked over her face and she felt Janey’s cheek on her neck as the mechanic used her as a windbreak.

She decided to take the scenic route home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have Jathena AU ideas you want to submit, please head over to andorzebra.tumblr.com and fire away! If you don't have tumblr, feel free to message me on here. The more the merrier :)
> 
> Note: Not all submissions will be written, I honestly wish I had that kind of time, so I'm currently aiming to select/write up my favourite 10.


	2. Candy Jam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 2: Submitted by shepardsleftboob on tumblr
> 
> The - it's 3am and I wanted candy from this vending machine in our apartment complex and it got stuck and and tried to grab it and now I'm stuck and I woke you up with all the noise - AU 
> 
> Complete with awkward Athena, smol crushes, and handywoman Janey.

The soles of Athena’s feet were cold against the hallway floor and she wished she’d worn slippers over her socks. Normally winter didn’t tend to bother her, put on a scarf, maybe a jumper on the coldest days, and she was set. But that night the city hit a record temperature low and wonderfully, her apartment had no heating. Her dick of a landlord, Jack, didn’t think she paid enough to warrant bringing in a repairman, what when spring was, “Only one month away, buttercup.”

God, Athena wanted to hit that guy every time he opened his mouth. Unfortunately, he was the only apartment owner in town who would sign her a lease after she got out of the slammer.

Debts to assholes aside, there was the pressing mission of getting warm enough to be able to sleep, and there was only one thing sure to do the trick.

Chocolate.

The floor’s vending machine glowed brightly at the end of the hall and Athena pushed past the numbness in her toes to walk a little faster. It must have been at least 3am, judging by the quiet and darkness seeping from beneath each door she passed; she didn’t have a watch, time lost a bit of its meaning while she was locked up and now she preferred to extrapolate the stage of day using her surroundings.

The game reminded her of past military operations she’d completed over on the east coast. They were mostly infiltration assignments; being willfully captured by the enemy, armed with nothing except the clothes on her back. Proceeding to break free inside the opposition’s camp, acquiring the target and getting out, taking as many lives as possible on the way.

She maintained a perfect record of success, emerging soaked death, sometimes not even knowing the day or her location. Always left to figure it out herself.

These days, leaving herself to figure out the time was not nearly as thrilling, but it had become something she enjoyed.

Things were simpler back then, her world was completely orientated around the next mission and what objectives she needed to complete to get there. Now, she still had missions (self-assigned), but it was just the getting there she struggled with.

Primary mission: She needed a job.  
Issue: She wasn’t able to get an interview anywhere due to her ex-con status and, annoyingly, threats did not seem to help in those situations. Nor did she want to fall back into old habits to get her cash.

Secondary mission: She wanted new clothes and decent food.  
Issue: She needed to keep the only money she had for rent. Also see job issue above.

Tertiary mission: She needed to not feel like she was back over east every time a child screamed, and needed not to drop for cover whenever a car backfired.  
Issue: She had no idea how to fix those things and telling her body and mind that they were being pathetic was not working at all.

Potential side mission: She really wanted to speak with the sweet mechanic down the road, who worked on her roommate’s cybernetics and who had winked at her last week as she’d walked past the garage.  
Issue: She couldn’t stop her racing heart or the sudden drying of her mouth when thinking about the prospect.

But, in any case, at least she had an attainable goal tonight.

She watched as the red light of the vending machine cast a bloody glow over her skin, making the Omega tattoo on her forearm almost look alien. An array of candy and chips stared through her reflection in the glass. Athena looked past the tired bags under her eyes and her sorry state of bed hair, to hone in on the shiny row of Atlas Zeus bars.

Sure, Atlas as a company did shit all for the world, but damn they made good chocolate. 

Athena flicked her eyes down to the candy’s designated letter-number label and punched the code into the panel on the side of the machine. The price flashed and she frowned at the $1 rise in cost since the last time. She dug into the pocket of her tracksuit pants and hauled out her change.

“Fuck, fuck,” she muttered as she counted through the coins. Why couldn’t she have this one? God, just this one, come on-

“HA!” she yelled in triumph when the money added up; spot on $3.50. Her shout echoed down the hall and Athena paused, expecting Crazy Earl to yell back a complaint from two doors down.

Silence.

Athena breathed a sigh of relief. Annoying the neighbors in the early morning would not help her standing with Jack. 

She slid the money into its slot, watched the numbers count down and felt her mouth begin to water as she dropped in the last coin. There was a thunk, the numbers hit zero, and the vender whirred to life. Athena could already sense the coming warmth as the spiral holding her Zeus bar turned and turned and-

Stopped.

No.

The chocolate teetered…and remained in place. Athena banged her hand against the glass, but it did nothing to free her prize.

“No,” she growled the word aloud this time.

The warm hope in her died and was replaced by anger. Quickly, she gripped the sides of the machine and shook the whole vender, grunting in effort.

Still nothing.

“Argh!” Athena let go and kicked the damn thing, not caring about her foot, or the brief flare of pain that shot up from her ankle. She stood back and eyed the bastard, sizing up her opponent, and knew there was only one course of action.

“Alright, you want to play dirty?” She asked the vender. “I can play dirty.”

Athena dropped to her knees by the collection shoot and pushed back the metal flap. “Bring it,” she hissed, and shoved her hand in and up, reaching for the chocolate.

Her fingers splayed and wiggled as she stretched; nearly there, nearly there… Athena huffed and adjusted her position, gaining an inch but no more. Her face pressed hard against the display window. She was so goddamn close. The tip of her middle finger grazed the bottom of the wrapper, yes…yes!

Athena twisted and smiled into the glass as her index finger joined her middle, allowing her to grip the edge of the wrapper between her nail and fingertip.

“Got you now, sucker,” Athena taunted in the face of victory. She began to pull slowly and gently- 

And it was right then that an old shoulder injury decided to explode back into existence.

“Jesus-FUCK!” She cried out as lightning tore down her arm and across her back, making her skin burn with its intensity. She dropped her hand inside the machine and blinked back tears while trying not to move.

Gradually, the pain receded to a dull ache and Athena experimented by turning her arm a little. It hurt, but it was bearable. Besides, if she sat there any longer, the cold was going to have a real chance of setting in, and she couldn’t afford a hospital trip right now.

Athena swallowed and eased back, drawing her arm out from the machine. Her elbow hit the metal at an odd angle and she hissed, but kept going.

Well, she tried to.

Athena tugged and stared in horror as her arm remained fixed inside the machine.

Oh no. No no no no no.

She shifted and tried again, but to no avail. Panic fluttered in her chest and she twisted this way and that, growing more frustrated and sore by the second as she attempted to free her trapped limb.

“God, come ON!” She kicked the vender again. “Stupid, fucking-”

“Are you right?”

Athena froze. She knew that accent from Wilhelm’s voicemail…

“Hey,” the voice called again. “Did ya hear me?”

Athena looked around and wanted to shrink into the floor, because standing in the doorway next to the vender was the mechanic. The sweet mechanic in a loose, pink tank top and grey boxers, with her blonde hair pushed back by a headband and burn scars covering the left half of her body.

An awkward laugh burst from Athena’s mouth before she could stop it. “Ha- Ha- Yes, I’m fine- great actually. Right here, with you, um, over there.” 

“Uh-huh.” The mechanic’s eyebrows lifted. “Ya don’t look fine.”

“Well- that’s not…” Athena paused when a tide of warm air washed over her from the blonde’s doorway. “Wait, you- you have heating?”

“Oi! I’m askin’ the questions.” The mechanic stepped closer, crossing her arms. “What’re you doin’ making such a racket at three a.m.?”

“Oh, uh. I was just getting a chocolate bar- buying a chocolate bar- I mean, I already bought the chocolate bar but it got stuck.” Athena stumbled, not quite remembering how sentences worked. “I am definitely NOT stealing.”  

Oh god, now it definitely looked like she was stealing. 

Thankfully, the woman didn't seem to care. “So...now you’re stuck too? That what all the cursing was about?” 

“What? Noo.” Athena laughed again, more harshly than she intended. 

“’Kay.” The mechanic smiled. “Get up then.” 

“Uhm, you know, I think I’m good sitting here for a while.”

“Aw, bloody hell.” The blonde’s smile dropped and she turned back to her apartment. Athena watched her retreat, studying the way her boxers brushed the backs of her legs.

Long, toned legs. 

The mechanic’s form disappeared behind the doorframe and Athena gave her arm another tug. No use. She gritted her teeth and pulled harder, grunting when the pain flared in her shoulder again. She tried to push past it and wiggle her elbow to the left- 

“Settle down.” The mechanic appeared by Athena’s side and crouched to her level, placing a toolbox on the floor. “I’m gonna give ya a hand, alright?” 

Athena found herself staring into soft brown eyes.

The blonde smiled. “I’m Janey, by the way.”

Janey.

“So, which one were ya afta?” Janey asked as she gestured for Athena to let her look at the situation. 

“I’m Atlas.” Athena introduced herself. “No- wait, fuck- Athena. I’m Athena. I was _after_ the Atlas bar.”

Janey laughed and Athena thought it was one of the greatest sounds she'd ever heard. 

 “Fair ‘nuff, can’t say I’m a fan of ‘em.” Janey pulled a screwdriver from her toolkit.  “Nice ta meet ya though, Athena. Keep yourself still.”

With that, Janey leant over her and began working on the metal flap pinning her arm. Heat rose to Athena’s cheeks as the mechanic pressed against her, but she didn’t move; partly because Janey told her not to and partly because she was so relieved at the warmth the mechanic’s body provided. 

Minutes rolled by and an awkward silence came over Athena as she watched Janey work. She noted how focused she was and how efficiently she used her tools, and spotted a faint smear of grease on her cheek. Athena was surprised by the urge to wipe it away with her thumb. Janey reached for another tool and as she did so, her hair brushed past Athena’s ear, and Athena noticed the streak of pink in the blonde bangs.

Her study was interrupted when Janey’s fingers appeared under her tricep and eased her trapped arm to the right. Athena’s nostrils flared as the pain sparked again, but she clamped down on her tongue; the situation was already embarrassing enough without her appearing weak.

“So, Athena, did you by any chance walk past Springs’ Mechanics last Tuesday?” Janey’s voice was close to Athena’s neck, and then it was gone as the blonde moved around to switch tools again.

“I, uhh…um.” Athena felt her face reddening. Janey glanced at her over her shoulder and grinned.

“Thought I recognised those rosy cheeks.” The blonde squeezed between Athena and the vender to lie on her back, presumably gaining a better angle. Her head came to rest against Athena’s calf and she looked up with a wink. “Glad we’ve finally been introduced.”

“Yes.” Athena replied. “I mean, I’m glad as well… I didn’t know you lived here.”

Well, that didn’t sound stalker-ish at all.

The mechanic returned to work and Athena felt the metal flap shift. “One side down.” Janey reported. “Nearly there.”

When the next screw came loose, the flap dropped further, and Athena’s arm was pushed down with it. She jerked as the hot spikes tore through her muscles.

“Argh! Damn it,” she hissed, squeezing her eyes shut and fighting her body's urge to faint. 

“You okay?” Janey’s voice drew her back and Athena nodded.

“Fine. Just, please hurry up.” She didn’t want to sound ungrateful, however this was growing more uncomfortable with every minute.

“Alright, alright.”

Silence returned and Athena concentrated on the feel of Janey’s head on her leg rather than the pain in her upper body. The mechanic hummed and Athena opened her eyes to see Janey’s tongue sticking out from between her lips as she undid the last screw. They were nice lips, chapped but full, and glistening slightly from-

“Ready?” Janey’s eyes flicked to hers. Athena coughed and braced herself. 

“As I’ll ever be.” 

Janey sat up and supported the metal flap with one set of fingers, grabbing Athena’s free hand with her other. Athena’s skin tingled where Janey touched her; that didn’t usually happen with people. Not that Athena let many people touch her, any people actually.

“Right.” Janey smiled. “Now you hold there, yep just like that, and when I say so, I want ya to pull the flap back towards us. Keep in time with me.”

“Got it.” Athena adjusted her grip. 

“Kay, 3, 2, 1, and pull. Easy, easy, that’s it.” Janey’s voice was steady as they removed the obstacle. 

When the section of metal was free, Janey laid it on the floor and Athena drew her arm out of the vender, breathing out a shaky sigh once it had been liberated.

“Well, that wasn’t too hectic,” Janey smiled, standing up and helping Athena to do the same. Athena’s skin tingled again as Janey gripped her forearm and she found she missed the touch when the blonde let go. God, this crush was moving into dangerous territory.

“Mind if I ask what you wanted chocolate for at three a.m.?” Janey asked, grinning cheekily and reaching into the vender herself. Her longer fingers grasped the Zeus bar easily and she pulled it out, presenting it to Athena. 

“I- Thank you.” Athena returned Janey’s smile and took the chocolate, hugging her injured arm to her chest. “My, uh, apartment has no heating and I couldn’t sleep… And I know this sounds odd, but chocolate actually warms me up, so…here I am.”

Athena realized how ridiculous her story sounded. Luckily, Janey only looked at her with honest concern, not the ‘you’re really weird’ kind of concern.

“Huh, well you can crash at mine if ya like? Heater works a ripper.” The blonde gestured back to her open door, where warm light spilled into the hall.

Athena felt her heart skip a beat. “No! No, I don't want to trouble you. You’ve already assisted me and um-"

“Nah, I don’t mind. Bet ya the cold isn’t gonna do that shoulder of yours much good.” Janey bent down and began putting back together the machine they’d partly disassembled. “Besides, I’ve got the comfiest couch on this whole floor.” 

“Really?”

“Well, not like I’ve tried everyone else’s but-”

“No, I mean, you really don’t mind?” Athena adjusted her arm and could already feel the pull of that warm air behind her. Janey stood up and ran a hand through her hair, teasing the strands into some type of order. 

“No, I really don't mind.” Janey mimicked Athena’s accent with a grin. “Seriously, ‘Thena. Lounge is on the left, go make yourself at home. I’ll be there in a tick.”

Athena could only nod and follow the mission assigned to her, one that didn’t particularly feel like a mission. It felt like something new and she didn’t have a name for it. But it felt good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This had a lot more dialogue than I'm used to, so I hope it turned out okay!! 
> 
> If you have any Jathena AU ideas you want to submit, please head over to andorzebra.tumblr.com and fire away! If you don't have tumblr, feel free to message me on here.


	3. Wild West part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 3: Submitted by - jetpackrat on tumblr, leftcircle on tumblr, and Red Dog on FanFiction.net 
> 
> Wild West AU including guns, horses, hats, storeowner/blacksmith Janey, and mercenary/cowboy Athena. 
> 
> Special mention to leftcircle (on tumblr) who acted as my beta and advisor for this story, given that you all entrusted your wild west au to an Australian, so go follow her, she's amazing.

Deadlift’s riders were fast. They tore through the main street of Regolith like fire racing up the southern hills in high summer. A kicking tail of dust marked their pursuit a few miles behind Janey, and she fought the urge to jab her heels harder into Bessie.

Dry air grated the back of her tongue and sand forced its way up her nostrils, digging a home in her sinuses. She pulled her pink kerchief over her mouth, but the hot wind still clawed her eyes and bit at the scars covering her body, making them tingle with rawness despite their age.

The ranges loomed ahead; a promise of safety in steep stone faces and dirt passages that wound like veins through the rock.

Yeah, Deadlift’s gang were ruthless and their mounts swift, but Janey was smart and her horse wise. She would lose them amongst the cliffs and escape to the wide planes of the wastes. 

* * *

She rode hard, too scared to look again over her shoulder and see how close the iron mongers were. She gripped Bessie’s reins like a tether to the world, even as the flesh of her palms was slowly rubbed away by their cracked leather. The pain mimicked the stinging lesions cuffed around her wrists.

She forced the sensation into a positive; pain meant she was alive, as much as the fear in her heartbeat didn’t agree. 

They wouldn’t follow her into the wastes. They wouldn’t. They couldn’t.

The words circled her thoughts in a prayer.

* * *

Clear sky hazed into white where it lay over the horizon and the shadows on the ground stretched just past midday. Janey’s feet led Bessie in an even stride across the wastes, tripped only by the smaller clumps of tussock she was too tired to care for.

She lifted a canteen to her lips and water cascaded to her stomach, easing her headache but not her hunger. Concordia was still a day’s ride, and thank shit she had the water and the horse to make it. 

The gravel under her boots crunched with each step and a herd of kraggons called loudly to her left. The next tussock she kicked gave a metallic clink. Her attention was drawn down.

A horse bit lay in the dirt. She picked it up and traced its black steel edges. The scavenger in her started fitting puzzle pieces together and her gaze turned west. She held the bit at arms length to look through the cheek rings, like a child’s pretend telescope.

Amongst the scrub, the unmistakable mound of a fallen horse rested about a quarter mile away. Janey ran in spite of the heat.

* * *

The horse was stripped bare and its belly swollen with the gasses of decay. A woman leant against it in a picture of Elpian folklore. Her pale face was burned red, layers of skin already peeling across high cheekbones, and her hair shined the colour of violets, hinting at blue and clumped with grease, cut roughly to the collar. 

By her clothes and the excess of guns holstered to her body, she was clearly no stranger to the environment.

Quickly, Janey felt the point where the woman’s jaw met her neck. A pulse thrummed faint and rapid, but alive. The skin was dry, no longer sweating. Her breaths were shallow.

Janey parted the woman’s chapped lips to place her canteen between them, feeling their fullness under her thumb and tilting a sharp chin upward. The water trickled and was swallowed with a few coughs. The rest was poured over her head, running down the back of the woman’s neck and darkening her coat. Her woollen shirt was slowly stained clear as the water spread.

She remained unconscious despite Janey’s concerned “Hey”s and “Hello”s.

It was only when Janey moved to shake the woman’s shoulder that she saw the blood beneath grit and dust. It soaked through makeshift ties around a thick bicep and forearm.

Bullet wounds for sure.

Janey’s hat was transferred to the woman’s head and she lifted her onto Bessie, grunting with the effort. She wondered about the powerful muscles she felt under her hands.

Fine leather boots were removed and more water sprinkled over tan trousers; air moving over the wet clothes would cool as they walked.

With care, Janey leant her over Bessie’s neck. As she tied her down, the woman’s eyes opened. They were blue, deep as the winter sky and sharp as broken glass, and they studied Janey for a second before rolling backward.

Janey took hold of the reins.

* * *

Deprived of her rifle, pistols and coat, the woman looked smaller where she lay on Nina’s dining room table. Out cold, muscles stiff, skin pale and mottled, she looked like a corpse. Just like…

Janey felt sick.

But then, the woman’s eyes flicked beneath her lids as Nina flushed her wounds, and Janey sighed, memories of the last time fading.

Nina began stitching the skin back together. The woman was lucky, the bullets had passed bone and only ripped through muscle, saving her arm and saving Janey a whole crate of spices in additional payment.

Concern tinged Janey's thoughts as she watched the woman’s eyebrows draw together with every pierce of the needle. Instinctively, she wanted to reach for the woman’s free arm, where it hung limp off the table, and grasp her wrist, touch over her pulse, lace their fingers together in reassurance.

Instead, she dipped another rag in the bowl beside the woman’s hip and wiped it slowly over her forehead, taking care to push the purple strands out of her face.  

Eyebrows relaxed, and Janey rested the cloth just above the fine hairs, staring at the lamplight playing over the woman’s jaw and lips.  

She was beautiful. 

Nina continued to work clean and swift, not once complaining about the hour.

* * *

In the dark of the early morning, Janey was woken by a thud. She sprang from her chair to see the woman sprawled on the floor, trembling in an effort to stand and still dressed in one of Janey’s spare cotton shirts. 

Janey knelt and took her shoulders, helping her back to the bed.

“There you are.” She smiled. “You're all good.”

“Where am I?” The woman’s voice was husked and the candlelight had turned her blue eyes to grey. Their steel gaze watched Janey as she helped with the sheets.

“Town of Concordia. My guestroom, specifically.” Janey sat by the woman’s knees, giving her space.

The woman frowned.

“I found you out in the wastes. Had the worst case of sunstroke I’ve ever seen,” Janey explained. “Aw, and you’d been shot a coupla times too.”

She gestured to a heavily bandaged arm. The woman looked down, as if she’d only just noticed, and blinked slowly. Janey eased her back.

“You should sleep,” she encouraged.

The woman relaxed; head hitting the pillow in agreement and eyes closing. They opened again as Janey returned to her chair.

“Who are you?”

“Springs,” the blonde replied, shifting to get comfortable. “Janey Springs.”

“I’m Athena.”

The name was a whisper on the crest of sleep. 

* * *

In the morning, Janey awoke to another thud, and she quickly learned that was how Athena dealt with most problems. She pushed into them, determined to overcome the restrictions of her body.

However, she didn’t try to leave, her shooting arm was fucked and she spoke aloud the debt that needed paying.

Janey told her to put it on her tab as she served breakfast downstairs for the first time in three days.

They ate silently, Athena’s arm cradled to her chest and her eyes never still. She struggled to cut her toast and looked surprised when Janey did it for her.

* * *

The next day, Janey made porridge, warm, soft, and easy to eat with one hand.

“So, how’d ya end up stranded in the wastes? You a bandit or somethin’?” Janey asked over her shoulder as she searched the cupboards for honey. 

“No, I was a gun for hire…” Athena’s voice was rough and exact. “Job went south.” 

A mercenary.

Janey was generous with the honey.

* * *

The store was quiet and smithing was backlogged by weeks thanks to the incident with Deadlift’s gang. Forge work ate away the days and Janey left the doors open to listen for the shop bell, at the cost of smoke and soot finding its way through the house. 

A crash punctuated the space between strikes of her hammer, and she put down her tools to check on the Emporium. She found Athena desperately trying to catch runaway lollies from a fallen jar, her busted ribs and useless arm slowing her.

Janey took pity after a moment and she wiped her hands on the inside of her apron, waving the mercenary aside. She quickly collected the bright balls of candy in her palm.

Perhaps it’d been a bad idea to let Athena watch the shop again. The woman struggled with the mundane.

“Sorry, Miss Springs. I’m, uh, not sure- they fell for some reason, I don’t, uhm…” Athena stumbled with her words and tugged at her kerchief. She wore the thing at all hours and Janey had yet to find out why. She was also yet to find out her surname. 

What she did know, however, was that Athena grew flustered quite easily, though only around her it seemed. Athena’s talk with customers and Nina could be probably be described as short and abrasive, but half the time she couldn’t even string a sentence when it came to Janey.

It was cute, and Janey couldn’t help but tease her. 

“Tell me, Miss Athena.” Janey popped a lolly into her mouth and offered one to the mercenary. “Do ya like sweets?”

Athena’s face grew red as she took the candy. “Put them on my tab,” she mumbled as the lolly slipped between her shapely lips.

Janey smiled and poured the rest onto the counter before returning to the forge.

* * *

Athena took to practicing her left-handed shooting out back, preparing herself for the reality that her right hand might never again be her strong one. Janey let her use salvaged scraps of metal as targets, while they waited to be melted down, and she only asked Athena to stop when the neighbours finally threatened to boycott the Emporium if she didn’t keep the noise down. 

Athena took to throwing stones for accuracy instead and turned to writing for precision. Over the next week she helped cook with raw fingers and an ink-stained palm. 

* * *

One night, the Dahl family, who owned the quarry and had built most of the town, threw a get-together to celebrate their driving the Eridians back to the Solitude Mountains. Madam Zarpadon bought out the saloon and the townspeople spilled onto the main street.

The summer air was warm, stars freckled the sky, and Janey set up a makeshift stall outside the Emporium. She sold more fruit and sweets than she had in weeks, to children and adults alike.

It wasn’t till late in the evening, when the intoxicated began to dance as the sober clapped on, that Janey managed to drag Athena out of the house. The mercenary snatched Janey’s hat and wore it tilted down, hiding her face as they snuck to the Up-Over bar. Why she wanted to lie low was still a mystery.

Athena drank Janey under the table and Janey woke in the morning halfway up the stairs of her house, with a pillow tucked under her pounding head. She wondered with slight dread how many times she’d told Athena she was, “Real pretty.” 

Turned out to be around ten.

* * *

Janey hauled the hipbath to the guest bedroom and drew hot water as Athena ate dinner. While she carried pot after pot upstairs, she felt Athena’s gaze glued to her back. Maybe a little lower.

“Miss Springs?” Athena finally called during her last trip. Janey turned on the stairs. “I- uh… You don’t have a man...here.”

It was an odd statement and Janey regarded the mercenary for a moment before laughing. “Well, Miss Athena, what makes ya think I need or _want_ a man?”

The words hung briefly in the air.

“Nothing.” Athena’s answer was honest, and spoken through a rare smile. Janey grinned and couldn’t resist winking to see those high cheeks redden, before she turned back up the stairs. 

* * *

Nina changed Athena’s bandages for the last time and soon the wounds were the shiny pink of new scars. Athena began throwing stones with her right hand, and Janey watched the grimace on her face every time the muscles flexed.

To commemorate the step in recovery, Janey asked Athena’s preferences and purchased her a new set of clothes.

A wide felt hat, dark with a white leather band buckled around it; gloves of grey buckskin, deeply cuffed and topped with red to match her boots; her coat and trousers were repaired, and were partnered with a new woollen shirt; and plain, full-length chaps of calfskin topped off the order.

She asked Athena to dress the outfit together with her guns and Athena obliged, adding the clothes to her, “List of debt to you, Miss Springs.”

Janey felt her face grow hot when the mercenary emerged from the guest room, walking in a confident stride down the hall and with a definite swagger to her hips.

* * *

The forge was a converted barn attached to the back of the house. Janey had thrown open the windows and large double doors, allowing the sunset’s mauve shadows to mix with the orange glow of the furnace.

She held her tongs steady in gloved hands and doused a length of steel in the bucket beside her anvil. Water boiled, hissed and steamed, and when she removed the metal, the remaining ripples distorted Athena’s reflection. The mercenary sat on an upturned pail, back against the wooden wall, hands busy cleaning her guns.

Janey worked into the night and Athena remained, watching silently. The work was long and hard; in the forge, the only thing that happened fast was getting burned.

* * *

It was early morning when Janey put down her tools and began packing up, keen to catch a few hours sleep before dawn. She accidentally knocked a hammer from the bench and it tipped to the ground. The sound woke Athena, who nearly fell off her pail.

The mercenary coughed as she stood, offering to help. 

Janey thanked her, but told her not to worry. In truth, she probably would’ve been more of a hindrance than help. Athena stood by the anvil while Janey cleaned her workbench, soon taking a broom to the floor. 

“How did you find me?” Athena eventually asked. 

Janey smiled and swept between the mercenary’s feet. “You weren’t exactly well hidden. Lyin’ in the middle a nowhere with your big ol’ horse-” 

“Why were you out there, I meant.” Athena interrupted in a fashion she never had before. It made Janey pause and look at her.

She wore her old, shot-up shirt, the one with a sleeve torn off where Nina had worked on her. The mercenary’s muscles were defined and more compact than Janey’s own, and their edges were softened by the forge’s light. Her tan trousers sat belt-free and low on her hips, purple hair was plastered to one side of her face and spread askew on the other. 

Janey had the sudden desire to kiss her.

She explained instead.

“I had a deal with some iron mongers in Regolith, little town south-west of here. Don’t normally trade with Deadlift’s type, but his prices were good and I needed the material.”

Athena leant her elbow atop the anvil’s horn, displaying the bulge of her forearm and the tendons in her hand, strong and dextrous. Janey bit her lip before continuing.

“Anyway, the deal went south, I shoulda known it would.” She shrugged. “They took ma gold, supplies, everything but my clothes really. Probably woulda come back for those too if I hadn’t escaped. I found Bessie in the night, tacked ‘er up with the first saddle I saw and walked quietly outta there. Found you on the way home.”

Athena nodded, fingertips drumming on the anvil. “If I returned the items this, Deadlift, stole, and the iron he owed you, would that settle my debt?”

“If ya killed him too, then we’d be good.” The condition left Janey’s mouth easier than she thought it would.

Athena stuck out her hand and Janey shook it, the mercenary’s palm was calloused and Janey ran a thumb ran lightly over the woman’s knuckles. There was the barest squeeze in response before Athena pulled away.

* * *

The Hyperion lot were a wealthy family, robber barons in truth, they worked and owned most of the goldmines in Elpis, and controlled the entire railway. One of them by the name of Jack, favoured Concordia, or rather Concordia’s saloon owner, Miss Moxxi. Janey didn’t care for him, but his visits were rare and he did buy up most of her stock when he was in town with is rag-tag gang.

As the Dahls began turning more attention to the Solitude Mountains, and what treasures the Eridians were hoarding, Jack’s visits became more frequent. He bought out the town hotel, seemingly on a whim, and Janey felt unease in the air.

A week later the Madam Zarpadon ordered a large supply of ammunitions through the Emporium, also commissioning a variety of spare gun parts. It was finicky smithing, but Janey got it done.

* * *

A knock sounded at the door as Janey removed her vest and began undoing the buttons of her cotton shirt. A hot bath waited at the foot of her bed; a reward for finishing all her orders. It had been three weeks since the last one was drawn in her house, and that’d been for Athena.

“Miss Springs?”

The final button popped under Janey’s fingers and she was so tired she didn't think before calling an inviting, "Yeah?"

At least she still had her knee length drawers on when Athena's head popped around the door, even if her shirt was hanging open.

“I, uh- uhhh.” Athena’s eyes were fixed on the floor when Janey glanced over. “Might I speak with you when you’re more- less- um…”

Janey held back a laugh and shrugged off her shirt. “Be down in a hour.” 

“Uh-huh.”

“You can close the door.”

“Yes.”

* * *

Janey took Bessie around Concordia and the surrounding areas for a few days; salvaging and buying all the scrap metal she could, preparing to fill out the jump in orders from both Zarpadon and Jack. 

When she returned, cart full and stomach empty, Athena was gone, along with Zoomy, the new horse. There was a note on the kitchen table:

_He will pay._

_\- Athena_

Janey felt a tug in her chest as she read the words, and she realised she’d fallen far further than plain old attraction or affection.

* * *

Four days passed and the strange ache of Athena’s absence had turned into worry by the fifth.

* * *

Janey was cleaning the Emporium’s display window, late in the afternoon, when she heard Zoomy’s familiar step on the street behind her. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and turned.

Athena approached slowly, the sun turning her into a silhouette where she sat upon Zoomy’s back. The light spilled around her shoulders as she dismounted, and Janey reduced her grin to an appropriate smile when she neared.

“Your gold and iron.” The mercenary stated, gesturing to the bulging saddlebags weighed over Zoomy’s rump and tipping her hat.

“And your dead man.” Athena held out her palm. A belt buckle rested in the nest of her palm, styled in the shape of a lighting strike. Janey closed her hand over the piece of silver, her skin warm where it touched Athena's.

* * *

With Zoomy taken care of, and Athena’s haul stored away, they entered through the back. Janey held the door for Athena and nearly bumped into her when she entered.

Neither moved. The door closed with a clack and Janey’s eyes adjusted. She noticed a strand of hair that fell low over Athena’s face. Slowly, she reached out and tucked it behind the mercenary’s ear, fingers tracing down and lingering for a moment. 

The desire to kiss her rushed back, mixing with the affection and attraction and the ‘something more’, and it all poured into the ache Janey had felt over the last five days.

She gave in.

“Can I kiss you, Miss Athena?” She whispered the name and watched Athena’s pupils dilate. Blue eyes flicked to her lips and back up. Athena opened her mouth, then closed it, and finally gave a sharp nod.

So Janey did, leaning in and taking those full lips against hers, kissing Athena softly and carefully till she felt hands lift up and wrap around her neck, bloody fingers dancing over her scars. She smiled and sank further into the embrace with a hum, gently moving forward and pressing Athena against the wall. She felt the mercenary smile back when their teeth clinked.

Janey withdrew a little, opening her eyes to see Athena’s staring back. She rubbed their noses lightly and heard Athena gasp, "Again?"

The word was hot as it ghosted over Janey’s lips. She nodded, happy to oblige. 

The second kiss was not so gentle, with gripping fingers and silk tongues; and the third even less so, with hard moans and gasping breaths, and hands wandering further and further. 

* * *

Janey realised something as she carried Athena upstairs, trying not to trip when the thighs around her hips tightened, and she murmured the thought into a smooth neck between kisses. 

“I don’t even know you...” 

Stomach muscles tensed against her ribs, and Athena withdrew from Janey's neck and hair, fast as a reflex.

“I…You don’t want to...”

“What?” Janey looked up, confused, with one hand stalled at Athena’s shirt buttons and the other pressed beneath her shoulder blades. Athena met her gaze and Janey could see the rolling thoughts behind her eyes, like cogs driving a tired, worn engine.

“Put me down.” The decision was made.

“I-”

“Janey- Please.”

Janey lowered her promptly and watched as Athena walked down the hall.

Hurt trembled in her chest with the quiet shutting of the guest room door.

* * *

Janey convinced Athena she didn’t have to leave, the mercenary was tired and whatever had happened between them didn’t negate the rest she deserved.

Athena’s shoulders lost some of the tenseness they’d had all morning and she agreed to stay. If only for a few days.

* * *

“You in, Springs? I need a favour.” Jack’s voice was loud and unmistakeable as it travelled through the house. Janey took a deep breath, removed her smithing apron and walked through to the Emporium.

The man was presented in his usual style; clean shaven, wearing a top hat black as coal, suit pressed and waistcoat neatly buttoned; as if a high-stakes business deal were just around the corner. 

“What can I do for ya, Jack?” Janey put on a smile and folded her arms. “Your Kraggonshoes aren’t gonna be ready for another week.” 

“Actually I…” Jack paused, looking over Janey’s shoulder, and exclaimed, “HAH, I’ll be damned!”

Janey glanced around to see Athena in the doorway, dressed like she was ready to ride.

“You’re the Gladiator!” Jack pointed to Athena, his grin unnaturally large. He looked between the two women and spread his hands. “She’s the gladiator.”

That was directed at Janey, as if she were supposed to know what he was talking about. Athena’s eyes narrowed and Janey made her confusion plain on her face. 

“Deserter turned mercenary, Atlas Company’s best hireling, y’know, till she killed them all?” Jack ticked his fingers as he listed Athena’s apparent past. “Bounty bigger than my inheritance, ring any bells?” 

Shit.

Janey’s stomach turned to lead and she could suddenly see the wanted poster plastered on Regolith’s bounty board, the one she’d seen as she was being dragged through the street by her tied feet. The large kerchief, the short choppy hair, the hard eyes, the picture hadn’t quite done Athena justice, but it had been her...she was… 

Jack laughed. “Tell ya what, Gladiator, you come work for me and I won’t turn ya in.” 

“Athena?” Janey failed to keep the crack out of her voice. 

Athena wouldn’t meet her eye.

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> You may not see much in the way of updates from me over the next few months. It's my last semester of Uni and I'm going to be very busy. 
> 
> However, if you still have Jathena AU ideas you want to submit, please head over to andorzebra.tumblr.com and fire away! I'll get to them slowly but surely. If you don't have tumblr, feel free to comment/message me on here.


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